Preference for Starting Center

[sexinthatsx]

I know that Boris Diaw has been playing out of his mind and like a stud lately, and it shows that his offensive game and versatility can force a lot of mismatches (as witnessed when Shane Battier had to guard Boris Diaw). But who do you think would make a better impact if put into the starting lineup: Tiago or Boris? At this point it's hard to imagine Tiago being as efficient and playing with as much impact as Diaw, but having Tiago on the floor is more beneficial in terms of rebounding and being able to slow down and reset on half-court plays.

[Old School 44]

It's all about matchups, but I kind of like Tony playing a lot of minutes with his BFF. It also adds a better playmaker/facilitator to the first unit. Splitter runs great PnRs with Ginobili and Belinelli, and although not at Diaw level, he's a willing yet underrated passer.

[Seventyniner]

Diaw has been better for the offense all season long. Splitter is the better defender, but most matchups don't allow him to share the floor with Tim.

[TD 21]

Diaw. Duncan just hasn't been able to get his mid range jumper working the way it did the previous two seasons, which when combined with Splitter being just mobile enough to get away with defending most PF's, as well as their passing and overall IQ, allowed them to not just play, but thrive with two C's playing together. To give you an idea of how untenable that duo has been this season, the Spurs have scored 96.8 points per 100 possessions in 478 minutes when they've played together, a mark that would rank 29th overall.

Unfortunately, they don't have the luxury of starting Diaw in most cases. Since the front office failed to do their job and Bonner looks like he's just about done (the knockdown three-point shooting remains, but he's become so woefully immobile that he's damn near unplayable in most match-ups), if they did that, they'd have no backup PF. So they're basically stuck with this lineup, with the exception of when they face teams that predominately play small, such as the Rockets and Heat, when they can get away with Leonard there.

[crc21209]

It just depends on matchups. And almost ALL of the matchups in the West will force Pop to start Splitter at Center. Houston has Howard, Portland has Lopez, Clippers have Jordan, Golden State has Bogut, and Memphis has Gasol...

[bigdog]

It really depends on the matchup. I will say that Diaw is a more versatile start, overall, because of his offense, but we know that we need Splitter's size against the bigger teams. Hell, in some matchups, and call me crazy, but I think even Baynes would be a good matchup against some Centers (i.e., against Howard last year).

[ceperez]

It really depends on the matchup. I will say that Diaw is a more versatile start, overall, because of his offense, but we know that we need Splitter's size against the bigger teams. Hell, in some matchups, and call me crazy, but I think even Baynes would be a good matchup against some Centers (i.e., against Howard last year).

Against the Rockets, I think Baynes at center vs. Howard would be more effective than Splitter.

[Mel_13]

Against the Rockets, I think Baynes at center vs. Howard would be more effective than Splitter.

Duncan guards Howard and Splitter is a much, much better choice than Baynes to guard Jones. If Splitter is replaced in the starting lineup v. Houston, it will be with Diaw.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

It's all about matchups

That pretty much sums it up. Against the Heat, Diaw started and the Spurs clean the floor in the 1st quarter. Against the Bulls, Splitter started and the Spurs put on another clinic in the first quarter.

That is why I hate people that complain about Pop playing all these weird lineups during the course of the regular season. Come the end of the season and playoff time, it pays off b/c he knows exactly what he has to work with and what works.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Has anyone mentioned that it depends on the match up?

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Tell Tony and Diaw to use their French connection to bring in Noah

[dallasmaverickslose]

Baynes

[Cry Havoc]

I think it's largely matchup dependent.

[benefactor]

It will be interesting to see how the Spurs play it. I'm inclined to believe that the decision making process will likely be match up driven.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

I like the second unit with Diaw, Manu, Marco, Mills, plus whomever. Those four alone all can shoot the three, put the ball on the floor, pass well, and can create their own shot. That's a defensive nightmare for a starting five and for a teams second five try to handle it as a big advantage for us.
Plus Diaw seems to have an easy time going against a backup big.

[mudyez]

IDOTM!

But I'd think Diaw works better than Splitter vs. the Clippers.

[superjames1992]

Free Tiago.

[PingPong]

Diaw or Splitter, depending on matches. Parker plays better with the Splitter's screens or Diaw? Bayes is just the result of the euphory from the last game. As Splitter, he looks worse than Errors, depending of the matchup.

[bigfan]

I wish somehow Baynes could get up to speed. The guy is huge, seems tough and has some talent. Maybe he just aint bright I guess

[sexinthatsx]

With the way the west is shaping up, it looks like most of the teams have big frontcourts, hence the reason why I started the thread. Again, Diaw has been playing out of his mind, but I don't think he can hold the fort down when it comes to guarding Robin Lopez, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, Deandre Jordan, Andrew Bogut, or heck maybe even Steven Adams of the Thunder lol

[xellos88330]

I completely agree that it is more of a matchup issue than anything else.

[Aztecfan03]

Ayres. :p:

[Southwest Texas Fan]

We can't combine Splitter and Diaw and call it a day?

[cd021]

Diaw or Splitter, depending on matches. Parker plays better with the Splitter's screens or Diaw? Bayes is just the result of the euphory from the last game. As Splitter, he looks worse than Errors, depending of the matchup.

I think Parker plays better with Diaw and Manu with Splitter.

Parker has more room to operate when Diaw stretches out to the 3pt line.

Manu primarily plays with the ball. Having Splitter there setting solid screens, and rolling hard to the rim, seems to fit his playing style a bit more.

[SupremeGuy]

MATCHUPS!!!!!

[Russo21]

To me it seems like the Spurs always play to what the other team wants. They play small, we play small, they play fast we play fast, they go big, we go big, they go slow, we go slow. We have the personnel to play either way so it doesn't really affect our team. Like the good old days where we'd beat Phoenix 135-130 then play Detroit and win 63-61. But it seems like we tend to put players out there that give the other team what they want according to the players they want on the floor. We seem to struggle to dictate the terms. Like last finals, our 10 million dollar big brazillian was glued to the bench. Why not have him out there and make Miami change their lineup instead of us. (would help if Tiago realised he is 7 foot and could take advantage of being defended by 5 foot defenders though) I just don't really remember championship teams altering their starting lineups that much to adhere to what the other team does. Pop should stick to the one thing and try take advantage on the mismatch to our advantage, if that doesn't work then play their style. Who finishes the game is the most important anyway, so finish the games with what worked during the game and don't do stupid things (like leaving a 7 foot guy on the bench who just happens to be one of the all time best rebounders and defenders when all we need is a stop or a rebound)